Inside Rules For Outside Speeches At CBS

We received a request from Matt Stoller at MyDD asking about CBS News policy regarding paid speaking engagements by CBS News talent and employees. So, as always in these cases, we asked Linda Mason, Senior Vice President for Standards and Special Projects for CBS News and here's what we found out.

Any speeches given by an employee of CBS News must be approved by Mason or CBS News President Sean McManus in advance. While approval can be a sort of know-it-when-you-see-it subjective call, there are some common-sense guidelines followed. Appearances at events that revolve around controversial issues or would give the appearance of advocacy, for instance, are certainly one such guideline. Anything that could be seen as a conflict of interest is another no-no. For example, a reporter covering the health care beat would not be allowed to appear at an event sponsored by the insurance industry. CBS News employees are allowed to be compensated for speeches and there is no limit on the number they can do other than practical limits -- such speeches are to be done only when they are not on the job.

There seemed to be some question from Stoller as to why news organizations would not have such guidelines publicly posted. The answer, at least in this case, is that the determinations are made on a case-by-case basis and not every case can fit iron-clad rules. In some instances, the lines can be very blurry but it is one of our primary missions at Public Eye to answer such concerns. So if there is ever a specific question about these issues at CBS News, please contact us and we'll find an answer.